I'm Emma Kate. I've been a decorative painter for 25 years and now I'm trying my hand at DIY. I live in a picturesque market town in Hertfordshire, England. I have a passion for upcycling vintage furniture, home decor and secondhand shopping.

11 comments:

Hi Emma, I love your easy basket painting idea! Would I be correct in assuming the basket' original surface is shiny? It looks so in the photo, and I am wondering how the paint absorbs through varnish? Any advice is appreciated,Queenie

Hi Queenie, It was sort of satin shiny. The paint wash had no problem adhering. I have done this once when the basket wouldn't take the paint at all. I washed it off. I could have tried adding more emulsion but I'd run out. Another option is spray paint if you don't mind an opaque finish.Hope this helps!

By coincidence, we're moving to Hitchin from London soon. I'm hoping to do lots of upcycling of furniture for our new home. Do you do classes on furniture painting? I've got some old pine wardrobes ready, along with a few pots of Annie Sloan paint but haven't really got a clue what to do! Would love some pointers.

Hi Lou, I'm not currently doing classes but come for a coffee and I'll tell you everything I know! I can't reply to your email personally as it's set to ''no reply'' but if you change that and email me again I can give you my details!

F&B estate eggshell in my opinion is the best. It goes on beautifully, dries without streaks (I use a mini roller) and IF you wait the proper drying time before you recoat, not just when if feels dry, you will get a tough cleanable surface that looks like a factory spray job. If you get bubbles with a roller, keep on spreading it out until they disappear. They will. If you water it down, you'll only have to do more coats. I know it's not the cheapest out there but I wouldn't use anything else. I did have to do about 4 coats to get a really great coverage so you must take your time. Good luck!

Hello Emma Kate! Finally got the blog post up using your fabulous tutorial about doing lettering on glass. A link to your blog is included. http://www.penandhive.com/2015/11/how-to-do-hand-lettering-on-glass-and.html Thanks again for that post! Can't wait to try it on other things!